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One hundred fifty-nine male African adults from the Belgian Congo were given a paper-and-pencil perceptual task devised by A. Rey and consisting of drawing lines between randomly arranged black dots so as to isolate simple geometrical figures. A practice task, where the perceptual difficulty was reduced by printing in different colors the dots corresponding to the different figures, was always given first. Both tasks were given without time-limit. Scores were number of correct patterns on the black test, and time taken to complete each of the two tasks. Both time scores were combined by Hotelling's principal components method. Two independent variables were obtained, one of which (J) expresses the general tendency to be slow on both tasks and the other the tendency to be slower on the (difficult) black patterns than on the (easier) color ones. The relationship of these components to accuracy on the black patterns was determined. Africans were compared on both time components with Belgian Ss at the same accuracy level. (It was necessary to use children because European adults are too accurate en this test.) It appears that, for the same degree of accuracy, Africans are always slower on J, but no difference is apparent on B. It is concluded that, as far as these tasks are considered, the slowness of the Africans--defined by comparison with Europeans of the same level of accuracy--is not related to task difficulty. This finding is more easily explained by a general lack of interest in speed performance than by a slower operation of mental functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an interview study of contraceptive practice among a representative sample of 1,022 white married women in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was found that most of the couples have used contraception at some time during their married life, the highest use being among fecund couples. A high proportion of couples used contraceptives before their first pregnancy, and a very small proportion of fecund women never use any form of contraception at all during their married lives.

Fourier and spectral analysis of rainfall records at 163 South African stations over the period 1910-1969, and at thirty-nine stations from 1880–1969, shows that cyclical fluctuations with periods of about 18–20, 13–15, 10, 4.5, 3.5, 2.8, and 2.3 years account for much of the observed rainfall variance over the country. These fluctuations exhibit distinctive regional distributions that appear to have changed little over the last century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article compares the teaching of reading in the three main sectors of the Cape Town population in South Africa. The three distinct groups of children are the European, the Colored and the Bantu. The European children speak two languages, Afrikaans and English. The Colored population has informal learning of the alternative language outside the classroom and little actual teaching of the second language. The method of teaching was structured with different reading groups and a systematic program of studying words and practicing phonic skills. The Bantu schools are involved with basic issues of literacy. The European teachers are worried by a declining interest in and standards of reading of their older pupils. The method of teaching used by the Colored teachers was much less complex.

The settlement of Natal in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by colonists from other parts of South Africa and from Europe resulted in a conflict of ideas. The country was seen as excellent pastoral land by the Cape Trekkers, who entered from the interior of South Africa, and as good arable land by the British, who entered by sea from Europe. The difference in assessment persisted throughout the colonial period, despite several unsuccessful attempts at agricultural settlement but growing awareness of the limitations of the environment enabled a partial compromise between the two schools of thought late in the period. The unsatisfactory land laws had a profound effect upon development in the nineteenth century, arid some aspects are sill! visible in the landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comparative study between White Afrikaans-speaking, White English- speaking, as well as Coloured Afrikaans-speaking pupils in South Africa was undertaken to assess their stereotypes of 20 occupations which had to be judged by means of the Semantic Differential technique. The results support findings made in other countries that the hierarchical order of occupational rankings tends to be similar in different cultural groups. This could be due to the strong influence of Western culture and its norms. The differences found between Coloureds and Whites were mainly due to the prevailing political system in South Africa, which separates the two groups as much as possible. It was furthermore established that the factorial structure of occupational stereotypes showed a large measure of agreement between the three groups; the factors were labeled "upper class," "middle class," and "lower-middle class." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of visual and cognitive tasks were presented to Dutch and to Zulu subjects in South Africa. Zulus were significantly less accurate in estimating figure size and passage of time. Their error was typically under-estimation. The greatest difference, however, was the difficulty Zulu subjects had in attempting to locate a simple two-dimensional geometric figure embedded in a more complex design. This study, and the others which have been cited, confirm the propositions that certain perceptual organizations are characteristic of cultural groups, that even relatively "simple" processes may be affected by environmental conditions, and furthermore that some of these perceptual skills may not be re-acquired even after extensive education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports that to the Zulu, as to depth psychologists, dreams are of great importance. Many dreams are held to be of prophetic import, and may indicate a course of action to be followed by the dreamer. The field work presented in this article was done in the Nqutu district of Zululand, over some two years. The findings of the field work are concerned with the manifest content of remembered dreams. The main investigation was concerned with the incidence and aetiology of certain local psychogenic disorders common in the area and the relationships of these states with marital status, age, obstetrical history, dreaming, etc. The purpose of this article is certainly not to show that Zulu dreams are "childish," but to illustrate the imperative nature of some motives which underlie the dreams of this people. It is always difficult, if not impossible, to prove the lack of latent content in a reported dream, especially where method is as restricted as in the present investigation. Nevertheless the probability that such dreams may occur in adults, under certain circumstances, is shown in the body of this article.

This article analyzes the replies to certain questions on ideal family size, family planning and the limitation of offspring and attitudes towards the use of contraceptives of white married women in a fertility study in a Johannesburg, South Africa. Replies to questions on the above topics are correlated with certain sociological variables such as home language, religion, educational status, family income and occupation. The application of these controls to the sample data revealed some interesting differences in outlook with regard to family size, family planning and the use of contraceptives.

During the 1957-58, the Social Research Unit of the University of the Witwatersrand undertook a study of "reproductive, facts, norms and attitudes among the various socio-economic groups of the white population in Johannesburg." This article presents the results of that part of the inquiry concerned with the incidence of sterility and fecundity among white marries women. It seeks to report how the nature and incidence of fecundity correlates with certain demographic and social variables such as age and duration of marriage, the use of contraception, fetal deaths, religion and occupational status.

This article presents a study of fertility in Alexandra Township, an urban African community situated about eight miles from the center of Johannesburg, South Africa and housing approximately 80,000 Bantu people. It is felt that there are very real advantages in surveying the region with regard to fertility patterns and infant mortality trends using the Entokozweni sample. In attempting to measure Bantu fertility in South Africa, the demographer is faced with very great difficulties. Birth registration among the Bantu is still the exception rather than the rule. Age-specific fertility rates, which relate the number of births to the number of women in each of the quinquennial age groups of the childbearing period, are also calculated for the survey sample.

Very little is known with regard to differential fertility in the Union of South Africa, even for the European population. This is due to the absence of vital statistics for the majority of the population, and the failure to record details regarding income, occupation, socio-economic status, literacy, religion, etc., at the registration of births for those ethnic groups with compulsory birth registration. At the censuses of 1921 and 1926 questions were included on the marital fertility of Europeans but, apart from other deficiencies in the data, the intervening period is too short for significant comparisons to be made. No comparable material is available for other ethnic groups. This article attempts to describe the most important territorial patterns in fertility among Europeans and non-Europeans in 1911 and 1936 respectively, and the changes, which took place between these two dates. Analyzing the effective fertility rates does this and net reproduction ratios or approximate net reproduction rates in magisterial districts, as well as the provinces, the rural and urban areas and the principal towns and cities at the two dates.

The article investigates the educational background of the white elite in South Africa. The author identifies the universities for the white elite in the country and describes their characteristics. According to the author, the examination of educational background contributes greatly to an understanding of the character of the elite itself. The author adds that it is a feature of schools for the elite to foster close personal relationships among students which persist into later life. How these schools shape the elite of the country, and how the elite, in turn, influence the general society, are further discussed in the article.